There are now WWE rumors popping up involving the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble match and who might participate. The big announcement was made on Monday night’s Raw episode by Stephanie McMahon with most of the brand’s women standing in the ring with her. However, several superstars and one major sports star who has been speculated about quite a bit over the past several months weren’t there.

Per a Sportskeeda report, it’s mentioned that Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter revealed that UFC star Ronda Rousey could be among the participants in the big match. For months now, the WWE rumors floating around online have been that Rousey was training to be able to work in the wrestling ring. She’d been sighted at the WWE’s Mae Young Classic Women’s Tournament in support of her MMA teammate Shayna Baszler. Rousey was also part of a video clip that surfaced on WWE’s website and social media involving her UFC friends and several WWE women’s stars who were part of the “Four Horsewomen” in wrestling. That led to rumors that Rousey would team up to lead her UFC “Four Horsewomen” against the wrestling foursome of Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Becky Lynch.

Charlotte Flair and two other WWE 'Four Horsewomen' face off with UFC's 'Four Horsewomen' led by Ronda Rousey.Featured image credit: WWE

However, now the rumors are pointing to a Royal Rumble entry, and if that happens one would have to think it’s the perfect setup for her to win the match. WWE is always looking to capture publicity, so having this first-ever match with someone as popular as Rousey entering and winning would really generate some interest. So far, Rousey’s only involvement inside the WWE ring came at a previous WrestleMania years ago when she joined The Rock in the ring for a non-match segment that involved tossing around Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

Since then, there have been rumors and reports going around about WWE trying to get Ronda Rousey to commit to a deal. Longtime WWE commentator Jim “JR” Ross commented on Rousey joining WWE and said he felt she’d be a great fit. WWE COO Triple H also went on record several times talking about how interested the company was in bringing Rousey on board. HHH’s wife also seems to support the move as seen in an ESPN interview. There’s also the fact that Rousey loves professional wrestling. So far there’s no confirmation that Rousey will be in the Royal Rumble, but it makes plenty of sense to have her debut in a match with this format.

The Royal Rumble 2018 pay-per-view is slated to take place on Sunday, January 28, from Philadelphia. It will certainly be a historic event with the women getting to participate in their first-ever edition of this match, and crowning someone like Ronda Rousey its inaugural winner would be an interesting choice. If she’s the final entrant and picks up the win, expect her to be part of a major match at WrestleMania 34 involving Charlotte Flair.